>> BREAKING: U.S. to consider cellphone use on planes, by Ryan Knutson, Gautham Nagesh, Jack Nicas: "The Federal Communications Commission said it will soon propose allowing passengers to use their cellphones on airplanes, setting up a debate that will pit the technically possible against the socially tolerable. While cellphone use would still be restricted during takeoff and landing, the proposal would lift an FCC ban on airborne calls and cellular-data use by passengers once a flight reaches 10,000 feet. That would remove a regulatory hurdle to in-flight calls, but it would be up to the airlines themselves whether to allow them. Airlines have said they would approach the matter cautiously because of strong objections from their customers. The carriers also would have to install equipment on their planes to communicate with cellphone towers on the ground." [Blogosphere echo chamber count: 450] Wall Street Journal (paywalled)

>> UNWIRING WASHINGTON: Google's Eric Schmidt: 'The solution to government surveillance is to encrypt everything,' by Nathan Ingraham: "Since revelations of the NSA's widespread data collection and monitoring earlier this year, Google has staunchly denied working with the government agency and has taken it to task on a number of occasions. After calling the NSA surveillance 'outrageous' earlier this month, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt has come out against the agency again in an interview with Bloomberg News. 'The solution to government surveillance is to encrypt everything,' Schmidt said in a speed at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. 'We can end government censorship in a decade.'" The Verge

>> DRIVING REPATRIATION: Foxconn invests $40 million in Pennsylvania to tap research, talent, by Michael Kan: "Foxconn, best known as the maker of Apple's iPhone and iPad, plans to spend $30 million over the next two years to expand its existing office in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The investment will involve hiring 500 employees... In addition, Foxconn wants to draw upon robotics research at Pennsylvania's Carnegie Mellon University, by giving $10 million in funding to the institution... Foxconn's CEO wants his firm to establish a 'high-value' production base in the nation to help it build electronics with the use of automation." InfoWorld

>> TAXMAN: Nokia runs into hurdles over transfer of India factory to Microsoft, by John Ribeiro: "Nokia has asked a court in Delhi to revoke a freeze on its factory in India over a tax dispute, ahead of the proposed acquisition by Microsoft of its handset business. The Delhi High Court had earlier ordered the country's Income Tax Department to release bank accounts held by Nokia, but continued a freeze on the factory in Chennai in south India in connection with a US$331 million demand from tax authorities over taxes for mobile phone software licenses." PCWorld

>> INFLATION ADJUSTMENT: Soaring price of Bitcoin prompts CryptoLocker ransomware price break, by Dan Goodin: "CryptoLocker gives victims 72 hours to pay a ransom if they ever want to see their data again... When CryptoLocker first emerged, the malware demanded two bitcoins... This spike [in bitcoin value] hasn't been lost on the people behind CryptoLocker. According to researchers at F-Secure, a new version of the ransomware is demanding 0.5 bitcoin." Ars Technica

>> WISING UP: An uptick in the hiring of women for tech jobs, by Claire Cain Miller: "In the year ending in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the net change in the number of employees in the computer industry was 60,000. The net change in the number of female employees was 36,000 -- or 60 percent of the net change, according to the bureau's data.... Still, many in the industry are aware that women are underrepresented and are trying to change that -- with efforts that include a toy start-up thatencourages girls to become engineers and programs that teach girls to write code." New York Times (paywalled)

>>>> Bye-bye, boys' club? Why the new IT may be a woman's worldInfoWorld

>> HOW TO GET AHEAD IN ADVERTISING: Music tech company The Echo Nest expands into ad targeting, by Anthony Ha: "The Echo Nest, a 'music intelligence' company whose technology powers recommendations in services like Rdio and Clear Channel's iHeartRadio, is now looking to help partners make money from advertising as well. CEO Jim Lucchese argued that while music apps can become much more personalized, the ads running in those apps remains stuck in the broadcast model, targeting audiences at the most general level. 'Now that music is personalized and online, versus broadcast, we can move from a dozen radio formats ... to basically packaging audiences and targeting them,' he said. 'We see ourselves becoming the engine to enable that.'" TechCrunch

>> JUMPIN' JACK: Facebook's latest open source effort: a flash-powered database called RocksDB, by Derrick Harris: "Facebook has open sourced a new embedded database called RocksDB that's meant to take advantage of all the performance flash has to offer, from right on the application server. It might be a sign of best practices to come." GigaOM

>> MORE THAN A GAME: Xbox One teardown: "Microsoft Xbox One Repairability Score: 8 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair): Only a few tools are required to take the whole console apart. The opening procedure is similar to, but much easier than, any Xbox 360. Once inside, a clean, no-nonsense modular design allows the drives, fan, heat sink, wireless board, and front daughterboard to be easily replaced. Clips instead of screws make opening the case more difficult than necessary, but the absence of adhesive and proprietary screws helps soften the transgression. The hard drive is relatively difficult to access; you'll have to void the warranty if you'd like to upgrade/replace it." iFixit

>>>> Head-to-head: Everything you need to know in the PS4 vs. Xbox One battle Ars Technica